Punishment
by ShiningGalaxy
Summary: He was to either die or live out his banishment on Midgard to eternity. Neither sounded appealing to the God of Mischief. Being in the company of the Avengers and SHIELD members sounded like a death sentence. Being in the company of Tony Stark's niece? Eh, not as bad as what one would think. Loki/OC
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Avengers or anything of the sort. I do, however, own my character Grace Hamilton.

**Title:** Punishment

**Summary:** He was to either die or live out his banishment on Midgard to eternity. Neither sounded appealing to the God of Mischief. Being in the company of the Avengers and SHIELD members sounded like a death sentence. Being in the company of Tony Stark's niece? Eh, not as bad as what one would think. Loki/OC

**Pairing:** Loki/OC

**_XxXxX_**

**_PROLOGUE_**

**_XxXxX_**

Dark green, angered yet saddened eyes glanced about the walls of the prison that they were currently in.

All he wanted was to be wanted by not only his people, but by his father. His whole entirely life had been a lie and all he wanted was some kind of closure, wanted people to realize that he was a God and to be treated as one.

As the God of Mischief his mischief certainly caught up to him, and pummelled him into the ground. Quite literally in fact.

His eyes narrowed. Pain, both physical and emotional only reminded him that the lowly humans had beaten down him and his plans. How dare they?! He was a God, damn it. Not a child who needed to be disciplined for taking things for fun.

No, he deserved respect. He deserved what he had been taken from so long ago. However, he would do what he was asked of the Allfather and his...brother.

He would carry out his banishment or die.

And to be quite honest, he would rather live with the frost giants then live with the mortal's, the ones who had completely humiliated him in front of the billions of people.

He smirked behind his mask. He will get revenge.

One way or another, he was going to get it. After all, revenge was sweetest when served cold.


	2. Chapter 01

Grace Hamilton sat on the cold bench, sipping her hot chocolate, the warm liquid felt good on her sore throat. Sniffling she pulled her knees up to her chest. She was tired, cranky, and downright cold.

She forgot just how cold New York was during the winter years. It had been forever since she was last there. After being in a military family, she never really stayed in one place.

And go figure, after she reached the age of consent she had joined as well. Glutton for punishment? Perhaps.

She leaned her head on her knees and closed her eyes. The strep throat she had been diagnosed just a couple days before she had to leave should have deterred her from making her trip to see her uncle; Tony Stark. But did it? Not in the least.

And after being on the plane for a couple hours she was severely regretting her decision. The ride was miserable, and after getting off the plane and sitting outside waiting for her uncle she felt even more miserable.

Placing her cup beside her on the bench she looked at her watch and practically cursed. It was four-thirty. Her uncle was supposed to pick her up half an hour ago. She narrowed her gaze at the watch, as if it had done some horrible deed.

Her threads of patience was becoming slowly thinner as her green eyes glanced about the crowd, wondering where the hell her uncle was.

Hopefully he didn't forget about her.

She'd wait a few minutes before finally getting fed up and-"Hey, Gracie!"

_Speak of the devil_. She lifted her head and saw her uncle, wearing an extremely fancy suit, and a long trench coat as he made his way towards her. Letting her legs down, she grabbed her hot chocolate and her one duffel bag. He kissed her brow, wrapping his arms around her, sighing with relief.

"So glad that you're back." He whispered in her ear, "When your parents told me that you were deployed I was worried."

She smiled, "I'm sorry to have worried you, Uncle Tony, but I am back for the next month after being overseas for the past eighteen months."

Her voice was so low and scratchy, and sounded so painful when she spoke that he had to strain to hear her, "I'm just happy that you're back...and it sounds like you're sick."

She nodded, pursing her lips, "Yeah, got it a few days after getting back."

"Do you have medication?"

She nodded again, pointing to her bag. Placing his arm around her shoulder, he guided her to his car. Her jaw dropped, mouthing her appreciation for the expensive machinery.

She looked up at him and almost scowled at his increasingly cocky smile, "You dig it?"

"Oh yeah."

After putting her trunk-sized duffel bag into the trunk and getting situated in the passenger seat, they were soon speeding off towards Stark Tower, the building seemed to loom over the city.

Tony pursed his lips as he looked about the city, still parts of the city was under major reconstruction-no thanks to the God of Mischief. His memories going over what had happened just a little over six months. He had a feeling that something bad was going to happen, but he wasn't overtly sure on what was going to happen.

Instead of being plagued by his worried thoughts he pushed them to the back of his mind, right now his he should be focused on his niece. "So, Gracie, how do you like being in the military?"

She shrugged, "It's technically everything that you would think about. Having people yelling at you, shooting at you. It's very demanding."

He shook his head, "Why do you want to go through that?"

"Because I want to make a difference in the world."

"Become a billionaire..."

She shot him a look, "Uh, no."

"And what's wrong with being a billionaire?"

"I don't want it going to my head," She admitted, sighing a bit as she looked out the window, the streets were filled with people, running to and fro. Pretty much going with their normal lives.

Her life was far from normal.

"So..." She glanced to him, waiting for him to continue, "How is Jason doing?"

Her heart clenched in her chest. He just had to bring him up. "I don't know." She replied in a soft voice, looking away.

"Touchy subject, okay." He muttered to himself, "Pepper is very interested in meeting you. Ever since I found out by your mom that you were coming to visit during your R and R she has been estatic to say the least."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she is a BIG fan of people in the military." He gave her a cheeky grin, "And I must say, having my young munchkin niece in the military is pretty damned cool."

She smiled. They talked for a bit more until they finally reached the building. She had to crane her neck up, but winced when she noticed that it caused more pain to her throat. Rubbing at her swollen neck she sighed, she really couldn't wait until the antibiotics and pain medication kicked into gear.

"You okay?"

She dropped her hand, "Yeah, my throat just reminded me how much it hurts."

He winced, opening the trunk, as Grace was about to grab her bag but was beaten to the punch when Tony reached in and grabbed it. He gave her a lopsided smirk before closing the door. "What?"

"You came and got me, and even decided to pay for my plane ticket, which by the way I could have paid by myself. And now you're lugging around my suitcase."

He shook his head, "So? I love my niece, and haven't seen her in forever." he motioned to the door. "Come on, Pepper wants to meet you, and so does the Avengers."

"The Avengers..." She whispered, eyes widened. She knew what had taken place, something she couldn't fathom, even though she has seen the dangers of war. This...this was different.

"...And you'll be meeting a God."

"Huh?" She aksed, completely stopping, wondering if she heard correctly, "A what?"

"A God." He replied, sounding as if this was a nature occurence for him. She looked at him as though he had two heads, "Actually, two. One of them has some serious confidence issues, and the other one...well..."

She continued to look at him with a weird expression, not sure if he was drunk or high, maybe a bit of both. She shook her head and followed closely behind as they made their way to the elevator, neither of them speaking as they headed up, which, Grace admittedly felt grateful for, her throat really sore.

Once they reached the top, her jaw dropped. "Whoa..."

Tony laughed, glancing at her as her eyes took in his spacious apartment. "Come with me, I'll show you your room, okay?"

She nodded, barely taking in what he had just said but followed him down the hall. "Now your room is across from Steve's."

"Who?"

"Captain America."

"Again, who?"

He rolled his eyes, "I'll introduce you to all of them when the rest of the Avengers get here tomorrow."

"You're really apart of them?" Grace asked, her voice filled with both awe and curiosity. She looked at him as he turned his head and nodded.

"Cool."

"So, this is your room, make yourself at home," He pulled her into a hug. "It is amazing to know that you have come back, that you are back in your homeland; safe and sound."

Tears pricked her eyes, "Thank you."


	3. Chapter 02

Green eyes.

Whimpered cries.

And a muzzle of sorts.

Grace awoke with a confused look, pounding headache, and of course her throat was killing her. The dream she had was such a weird one; never in her life had she ever had something as similar. Three minor details; but she felt as though something was coming, it held much more importance.

Shaking herself from her thoughts she reached over, grabbed her medication, painkillers, and bottle of water, proceeding to grimace as the room temperature water went down her throat, following the pills-which felt like little knives slowly making it's way down. She sighed, hoping this wasn't going to last long. She hated being sick, and the fact that she was on leave from the military for a few weeks only made it seem worse.

She did not want to go when she was still recovering from Strep Throat.

Moaning, she got up out of bed, she still felt exhausted even though she probably slept for quite awhile. Hell, she couldn't remember even falling asleep.

"I must've been right out of it..." She muttered to herself, quickly taking off her nightgown and pulling over a dark grey t-shirt and a dark blue button-up sweater. And instead of wearing jeans, she decided that something comfy would more than suffice, so she pulled on a pair of green sweatpants.

After being overseas for eighteen months she literally forgot how it felt to be able to wear something that was considered 'inappropriate' for someone in her line of work. She did admit, it was far from appropriate, but good lord was it ever something she missed wearing.

Glancing at the clock Grace grimaced when she saw what time it was-1:45 P.M.

She had truly slept the entire day away, and her uncle didn't even wake her up. She felt so bad for it. Cursing, she quickly made her bed before leaving the room and down the hall, all the while running her fingers through her short dark brown hair. Once she reached the kitchen she felt awkward. Everyone seemed to be wearing weird clothing-was she missing something? And when she walked in the conversation that was going around immediately died down.

All eyes were on her.

Oh, God.

Her uncle came over to her, wrapping his left arm around her shoulders, a smile plastered on his face, "Good morning, sleeping beauty. Decided to join the world of the living, did you?"

She felt her face heat up, even though she knew it was childish she gave a slight whine and leaned her face into his side, grumbling about something. He gave a soft chuckle and looked to everyone. "I am proud to say this pretty lady here is my niece who, if any of you piss off will be knowing the true meaning of 'ass-whoopin'."

A few members of the group nodded their heads, while others seemed to be sizing her up, her gaze narrowed slightly and they looked away.

Grace couldn't help but laugh, but immediately regretted it as she groaned slightly, rubbing her hand carefully over her still swollen throat. Tony moved back from her, "Oh, Gracie you still don't look good, actually you look horrible."

She scoffed, narrowing her eyes on him as well, "Well, thanks for that."

"I don't mean it as it sounds. You just look more sick than what you were yesterday."

She sighed, "I'm not really having a real banner day."

He hugged her again, "How about you go over curl up on the couch and I'll get you something to eat. Anything in particular?"

"Anything that won't feel like knives are jabbing into my throat," She mumbled into his chest before letting go and walking over to the couch. Normally, she would've talked to the World's Greatest Heroes, but where she wasn't feeling well, social pleasantries were far from her mind. She sat down, practically curling into a ball, barely noticing two men on the other side of the room, both of them wearing the most bizarre looking costumes; something you may or may not see at a Shakespearean play.

One of them had shoulder length raven coloured hair, pale green eyes that seem to bore through you, and...a muzzle.

Flashbacks to her dream came to the forefront of her mind. She looked away, a frown grazing her already pale skin. His expression was somewhat masked but she could see exhaustion, pain, regret, and anger. She wondered why he was there, could it be that this was Loki, the God of Mischief?

"Oh, yes, Gracie, this is Thor, the God of Thunder who is from Asgard."

She nodded to him in greeting. The blond-haired God gave her a charming smile, he walked over to her, knelt down and took one of her hands gently into his own, "Lady Grace, your uncle has told me much about your brave endeavours as a soldier. On behalf of the people on Midgard I thank you for your services and welcome you home."

She smiled, her face heating up. "Thank you."

"And this bad boy right here," Tony smirked, smacking the raven-haired guy in the back, that earned him a death glare. "Is Thor's brother, Loki, the God of Mischief, the one who...almost destroyed Manhatten, and tried to ruin the world as we know it."

He looked away when her eyes met his. She studied him, he seemed uncomfortable being put under her gaze. She knew it! She knew it was him. From legends. The muzzle, she realized was to keep him from using his silver tongue, however, she wondered why on earth was he there in Stark Tower, on the couch, chained up, and in her dreams?


	4. Chapter 03

**Hey guys! Sorry for the late wait in an update :( Please forgive mah! **gives cookies to awesome readers** **

**So, lately, I have been writing stuff involving the military...why? Because I have decided to join the Canadian Forces...Army...Resource Management Support Clerk. So any and all inspiration is a freaking bonus.**

* * *

**Chapter 03**

Grace sat on the stool, sipping her Earl Grey tea, the warm liquid coupled with cough drops felt good on her sore throat. She silently cursed when, during the night, she had chills one moment and hot the next. Right at that moment she was cold and she pulled her fleece blanket closer to her body.

The twenty-four year old sighed, she was bored. Even though she probably would never admit it to anyone but part of her wished she was back overseas. She always had something to do, and it kept her mind from wandering. Here, she felt like she was being lazy, albeit she was sick, but that didn't matter. Not to a soldier. Here, she constantly wondered how her team was doing.

Ever since coming back to the United States she felt a foreboding feeling settle in the pit of her stomach, and even though she tried to rid herself of that feeling it always came back-stronger. Something was going to happen; she could feel it. And, it was not going to be pretty.

Shaking the thought from her head, she took another sip of her tea and decided to go into the living-room, the quiet was beginning to make her uneasy. As she entered she felt all eyes on her. She scowled, what was with seeing her walk into a room that everyone has to stop what they're doing and look at her?

She guessed that's how a lion felt in a cage. All eyes on him or her.

It was quite irritating. And uncomfortable.

Ignoring the looks she walked over to the only available spot over by the God of Mischief. She pursed her lips together and walked over there, "Do you mind if I sit here?" She winced as each word spoken sent ripples of pain through her throat. God, when was it ever going to end? She wanted to at least enjoy part of her vacation before returning overseas.

He looked at her with those dark green eyes, that was when she finally took note that the muzzle he had been wearing the day before was removed. She had to admit, for a bad guy he was quite the looker. She felt her face flush, immediately looking away. He chuckled lowly, "You're just going to sit here anyway, Midgardian. Why bother asking?"

Grace was just about to say something but was beaten to the punch by Tony, who draped a protective arm over her shoulder, "That is my niece you're talking to, Reindeer Games. I suggest you be a little nicer."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, "I do appreciate you sticking up for me Uncle Tony. But seriously? I can handle my own battles."

He chuckled, "Never said you couldn't. Glad you decided to join the world of the living Sleeping Beauty."

She shot him a look. He held up his hands, "Yeah, yeah. I know, you're not a kid. Blah, blah, blah."

She smirked. "No. But sometimes I wonder about you."

"We only live once, right?"

"Right?"

Loki had been right. She did just sit on the edge of the couch, curling into a ball and laying her head on the arm. Her head beginning to pound in her skull. The Fates seriously seemed to hate her. She groaned, pulling the blanket up over her head.

The chatter from before resumed but was much quieter, "Oh, Gracie."

"Yeah?" Her voice was slightly muffled by the blanket.

"Aunt Matilda called. She wants us-as in the Avengers, Loki, and you. She especially wants to see her kick-ass niece."

Even though they couldn't see it, a small smile formed on her lips, she hadn't seen her aunt since joining the military. But a thought crossed her mind, a frown taking its place, "How is she feeling anyway? Where I'm sick, I don't want to make her sick if she's still not feeling well."

"I told her you were sick and she said that she wanted to see you there and if not she was going to come up here and drag you back kicking and screaming."

Grace gave a small laugh. Oh, yes. Yes she would.

"And..." The hesitation in Tony's voice caused Grace to remove the blanket from her head and stare at her uncle, brows furrowed in curiosity.

"And what?"

"Your parents are going to be there..."

Closing her eyes Grace pursed her lips into a thin line. She shook her head, "No. I'm not going."

She felt all eyes were on her, including Loki's. Thor stepped beside her uncle, looking down at her with concern, "Why do you not want to see your parents? Especially after all the time you have not seen each other?"

"It's not that I don't want to see them..." She sighed, "But I'm not ready to deal with more of their lecturing."

"Why do they lecture you?"

"They didn't want me to join the military..."

"Is it frowned upon for a woman to join the forces to fight for their country?"

"No," She replied, her eyes filling with pain and sadness, she closed them for a moment before opening, her eyes boring into the God of Thunder's eyes, "They're just scared. They know it's a dangerous job. They're worried for my safety. My older brother Dylan got injured while over there, even though he's fine now, it's the thought..."


	5. Author's Note: Please Read

Hey guys!

I know that some of you have probably been waiting for an update from me for awhile and I do apologize. I just wanted to say that ALL of my fics on this site is being taken down and re-uploaded onto wattpad.

Look for ShiningGalaxy

If you're interested just search for me there or go to my profile to look me up. I would've put a link up here but won't let me...

Sorry for the inconvenience!


	6. Chapter 04

**Author's Note:** Okay...so I'm back...**cringes** please don't hate me. I guess I was going through a phase and maybe deep down I knew I'd be back from this...somewhat break. I missed everyone tremendously. 3

xXxXx

She looked out the limo's window, watching the numerous lights of the city as they drove by. The ride to her grandmother's ranch was nothing but quiet. Normally, the silence would cause Grace to become fidgity but this time the thought of seeing her parents after the unpleasant encounter last time made her mind work a mile a minute.

And it was driving her insane.

Her stomach felt as thougth it was it was twisting and untwisting itself in knots. She felt increasingly anxious, wondering if she was going to get yet another cold stare and many a lecture regarding her decision to follow her brothers footsteps instead of theirs.

All-in-all, they weren't necessarily thrilled with her for joining the military. And it grew ten-fold when her brother had gotten injured during his deployment overseas.

They acted like it was all her fault that he had gotten hurt. How was it? She wasn't even in the area, nor was in the military, but rather she was in the middle of the application process. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, attempting to push back the inevitable. Pretty soon she would have to encounter her parents.

Grace couldn't explain as to why being out on the frontlines didn't bother her as much as seeing her parents again; but it did.

And she hated it with a passion. Sure, she loved her parents but she couldn't stand the multiple lectures or even the criticizing looks she would receive from them. The rise of the uncomfortable tension was almost unbearable.

And it felt as though she would never get along with them like she had when she was younger.

Her heart clenched. Why wasn't life as easy as it was when she was younger? She definitely wished that it was. It would make her now hectic life at least somewhat bearable.

She was brought out of her reverie by someone tapping her on the shoulder. Liftin her head and letting her gaze wander to the right of her she saw Thor's concerned expression. "Are you alright, m'lady?"

She smiled, waving her hand in a dismissive wave, "Yes. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

_Well, no shit._ Grace resisted the urge to roll her eyes and say that to the God of Thunder but instead replied with, "Don't worry, Thor. I'm fine."

She looked ahead and saw, dark green eyes staring back at her; Loki's eyes. A slight smirk played out on his lips, but he spoke no words. She felt uneasy under his gaze, and vaguely wondered if he could mind read. She thought perhaps he could, from what she remember anything from Norse Mythology.

Eh, then again, perhaps it wasn't Norse Mythology.

Ripping her gaze from the God of Mischief she ignored any attempts of people talking to her as she regained her focus on the moving lights. Right at that moment she _wasn't_ in the mood to talk to anyone.

Closing her eyes she let her thoughts carry her away.

She jumped when someone was shaking her. She rubbed her eyes, figuring that she may have unintentionally fallen asleep. She looked up at her Uncle's face and it was then that she realized that they had finally made it to the ranch.

Reluctantly, she got out of the car and headed to the trunk to retrieve her bag. She gritted her teeth, this weekend was going to be an extremely long one.

She wrapped her soft coat around her small frame as the cold night air bit at the exposed flesh of her face. Ignoring it she murmured her thanks to the driver and turned around, stared at the house, then taking a deep breath before finally heading to the door.

There she was greated by her elderly grandmother, Isabella, "Oh, ma sweet lil' angel!" She cried, wrapping her frail arms around Grace's shoulders, pulling her in with surprising force. Grace finally gave out a small smile, and chuckling softly as she, too, wrapped her arms around her grandmother, letting her head drop unto the crook of her neck.

"Hey, Gram." She whispered softly, tears forming then as they threatened to fall. She felt a lump grow in her throat. Swallowing it, she willed to retain her composure. This. This is what she had missed while she was away.

Not being able to spend time with friends and family during long periods of time. Well, no one ever said that being a member of the military was ever easy.

But at the end of the day, this is what she was born to do; this was what she absolutely loved. Being able to make a difference in the world, albeit a bit small, but a contribution at least.

In the end she was proud to consider herself a member of the Army.


End file.
